1. Technical Field
The invention relates to display refrigerators, and more particularly to display refrigerators having an internal evaporator assembly.
2. Related Prior Art
Display refrigerators are commonly used in retail outlets such as supermarkets, restaurants, convenience stores and other establishments that sell frozen or refrigerated items. Display refrigerators typically include a case having a plurality of shelves supporting the items on display. Doors, usually made of glass, allow a consumer to survey the selection of items without having to open one or more of the doors. When a selection is made, the consumer opens the appropriate door, removes the desired item and thereafter closes the door.
It is known to provide a display refrigerator with an evaporator assembly to keep the interior display space of the refrigerator cold. The evaporator assembly is generally housed beneath the interior display space. It is also known to provide the display refrigerator with a fan that is operable to circulate air contained by the display case through the evaporator assembly. In general, the fan draws air from the interior display space through the evaporator assembly where the air is cooled, and then recirculates the air into the interior display space. In this regard, display refrigerators periodically operate to defrost the refrigerant coils that are part of the evaporator assembly. A consequence of such defrost cycles is that periodically the evaporator warms the air in the lower region of the display case adjacent the evaporator coils.
It is also generally known to separate the evaporator assembly with a grill or cover to conceal the evaporator assembly and to protect the components of the evaporator assembly from damage by items falling from the shelving or by spillage. Known covers are often made of multiple pieces which are configured to cooperate in forming an evaporator cover assembly and which extend between the front of the display case and the back of the display case. The individual pieces of the cover assembly are generally made of metal grills and/or sheets to provide strength and to withstand low temperatures, though it is also known to provide a multiple piece cover assembly made of plastic or a combination of metal and plastic. The individual pieces are also configured to expand and contract when exposed to varying temperature conditions in the display refrigerator caused by the alternating operation of the evaporator assembly through cooling and defrost cycles.